Closing the Marriage Gap

Explore More

In addition to the many couples who find their marriages floundering, there are others who never even get started in the first place. After decades of marital decline, the percentage of American adults who have never been married is at an all-time high, according to the Pew Research Center, and the percentage of children born outside of marriage is near it.

For a nation concerned with upward mobility and economic inequality, it’s a recipe for disaster—and for those who hoped that government programs could do more than flounder at solving the problem, it’s a source of quiet despair. Among social scientists there’s little disagreement: Intact families often offer the surest formula for economic success.

Through the Culture of Freedom Initiative, Live the Life has also partnered with Alpha, a marriage-enrichment and evangelization program; All Pro Dad, which uses sports to encourage strong fatherhood; and ­ThinkMarriage.org, a multimedia advertising campaign, among others. Perhaps most importantly, Live the Life will be combining policy research with microtargeted marketing to try to change behavior.